Method and composition for increasing branching and flowering response in plants
AssigneeUniversity of Connecticut
InventorsRichard Mc Avoy, Mariya Khodakovskaya, Yi Li
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Abstract
A unique fusion gene is disclosed which is useful for transforming a wide range of plants, resulting in a significant alteration of the plant phenotype with respect to shoot and floral tissue response, but not affecting root growth or function. The gene construct includes an ACC oxidase promoter to drive an ipt coding sequence that expresses IPT at certain stages of plant maturation and in certain tissues of the shoot. Exemplary transformations include chrysanthemum and tobacco, both of which exhibit increased branching in the vegetative shoot and increased bud count in the generative shoot.
Claims21
An isolated polynucleotide, or a complement thereof, comprising a nucleic acid molecule that encodes an isopentenyl transferase (IPT) operably linked to a heterologous aminocyclopropane carboxylic acid oxidase (ACO) gene promoter, wherein said nucleic acid molecule that encodes said IPT is at least 80% identical to SEQ ID NO:5 and said heterologous ACO gene promoter comprises the nucleic acid sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO:6 or 7.
A transgenic plant comprising a transgene which contains a nucleic acid sequence set forth as SEQ ID NO:
- 5 fused with a nucleic acid having the sequence of SEQ ID NO:6 or SEQ ID NO:7.
A method for increasing number of lateral branches and flower buds in a plant, comprising transforming a plant with a transgene comprising a nucleic acid encoding isopentenyltransferase (IPT) operably linked to a heterologous aminocyclopropane carboxylic acid oxidase (ACO) gene promoter, wherein expression of said transgene in the transformed plant provides increased cytokinin levels in the transformed plant compared with a non-transformed plant of the same species.
A kit comprising a LEACO10.918 kb-ipt gene chimera comprised within a vector and instructions for use.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.